Juventus begin their Coppa Italia campaign against Verona on Thursday as they look to end a 20-year wait to lift the trophy.

Published

13 January 2015

Massimiliano Allegri's men have history on their side in the last-16 clash at the Juventus Stadium - their first in this season's competition - with Juve not having lost on home soil to Verona in the last eight meetings.

Another omen may give Andrea Mandorlini's side a glimpse of hope, though, with Juve not having not won the cup since 1994-95.

Fabrizio Ravanelli starred in that team, scoring in the second leg of the final, as Juve became the most successful side in Coppa history with nine titles – a record since equalled by Roma.

However, their attempts to make it 10 have fallen by the wayside, with final defeats in 2002, 2004 and 2012 the closest they have come to achieving the feat.

Juve are in imperious form this season, though, with only one defeat in Serie A – to Genoa in October – and a penalty shootout loss to Napoli in last month's Supercoppa Italiana blotting their domestic record.

Allegri's side remain top of the league by three points after their win over Rafael Benitez's side on Sunday, and will be confident of carrying that form into the cup.

The visitors have been inconsistent this term after impressing so much during the previous campaign, when they kept pace with the top six until a late slump.

Mandorlini's side have not recorded back-to-back wins since September, but have another opportunity to end that run having beaten Parma last weekend.

Top scorer Luca Toni is certain Verona can progress in the competition despite their struggles, but he acknowledges they face the toughest test in the draw against the defending top-flight champions.

"We must try to continue like this [winning] because this is the right path," he told the club's official website.

"Now we meet with Juventus and games with them are always tough. They are one of the strongest teams in Europe. It will be tough, but we will go to Turin with enthusiasm and try to make points.

"We go there with the right head and with the will to win. It's always difficult."

Unlike Juve, Verona have already been in action in the competition this season with victories over Cremonese and Perugia in the earlier rounds.

Juve continue to be without Romulo, Kwadwo Asamoah and Andrea Barzagli for the clash, with Marco Storari, Simone Padoin, Angelo Ogbonna and Kingsley Coman expected to feature.